Kiss and cry
The kiss and cry is the area in an ice rink where figure skaters wait for their marks to be announced after their performances during a figure skating competition. It is so named because the skaters and coaches often kiss to celebrate after a good performance, or cry after a poor one. The area is usually located in the corner or end of the rink and is furnished with a bench or chairs for the skaters and coaches and monitors to display the competition results. It is often elaborately decorated with flowers or some other backdrop for television shots and photos of the skaters as they react to their performance and scores.
The term was coined by Jane Erkko, a Finnish figure skating official who was on the organizing committee for the 1983 World Figure Skating Championships which were held in Helsinki. Erkko came up with the name when visiting television technicians who were mapping the arena prior to the event wanted to know what the area was called. The first formal off-ice waiting area at the Olympics appeared in Sarajevo 1984. The term "kiss and cry" was widely used by the early 1990s, and is now used officially in the International Skating Union Regulations, and showing the "kiss and cry" room likely has helped make figure skating very popular in Olympics on television. The American and other national federations train skaters on how to appear on camera while waiting.
Beautiful World (Utada Hikaru song)
"Beautiful World" is a song by Japanese musician Utada Hikaru. It served as the theme song for Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, the 2007 film reboot of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was released as a double A-side single on August 29, 2007 along with her song "Kiss & Cry", which had been released digitally three months earlier. In 2009, a remix of the song, "Beautiful World (Planitb Acoustica Mix)" served as the theme song of the second film in the series, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.
Background and development
In 2006, Utada released her fifth studio album, Ultra Blue, led by the digital single "This Is Love". In February 2007, Utada released "Flavor of Life", the theme song for the drama Hana Yori Dango Returns, which became one of her most commercially successful singles, selling over eight million downloads and becoming the second most digitally successful song of 2007 globally.
On April 20, Utada's song "Kiss & Cry" began to be used to commercials for Nissin Foods' Freedom Project advertising campaign, and was released as a digital download on May 31. Utada's recording of the jazz standard "Fly Me to the Moon", originally found on her "Wait & See (Risk)" (2000) single, was rearranged and released as a digital download on June 29. Renditions of this song had previously been used in the original Neon Genesis Evangelion animation's soundtrack, and Utada's version was used in trailers for Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone.
Kiss & Cry (song)
"Kiss & Cry" is a song by Japanese musician Hikaru Utada. It was released as a digital single in May 2007, and later as a double A-side single along with "Beautiful World" on August 29, 2007. Used as a part of Nissin Foods' Freedom Project advertising campaign, the song was used in commercials for Nissin's Cup Noodles.
Background and development
In 2006, Utada released her fifth studio album, Ultra Blue, led by the digital single "This Is Love". This song was the first of Utada's to be used in the Freedom Project campaign. In February 2007, Utada released "Flavor of Life", the theme song for the drama Hana Yori Dango Returns, which became one of her most commercially successful singles, selling over eight million downloads and becoming the second most digitally successful song of 2007 globally.
"Kiss & Cry" was originally temporarily named 'Dancing Leah' by Utada, due to her fascination with entertainer Leah Dizon. "Kiss & Cry" features a strong beat in the verses that melds into synthetic elements in the bridge and chorus. The bridge of the song samples the melody from the verse of "Hotel Lobby", the seventh track off her 2004 English language album Exodus.
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